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H. B. SMITH & G. B. HINMAN.

SELF CLOSING VISE.

No. 380,461. Patented Apr. 3, 1888.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT Oriana.

HIRAM B. SMITH AND GEORGE B. HINMAN, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA, AS- SIGNORS OFONETHIRD TO ED. HOLLAND, OF SAME PLACE.

SELF-CLOSING VISE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,461, dated April 3.1 888.

Application filed January 5, 1888.

GEORGE B. HINMAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Atlanta, inthe county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented a new anduseful SelfClosing Vise; and we do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of t-hcinvention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to lettersor figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

The objectof this invention is to so improve Vises as to make them closeautomatically and be easily opened without the use of either hand, byreason of which the hands are left free to handle the pieces to beclamped. As visas are usually constructed, one hand being required toclose them, the work is usually placed in them with one hand only, whichis often difficult and sometimes impossible, in which case theassistance of a second person is requisite, and the same difiiculty isalso experienced in taking the work out of the vise. These difiicultiesare entirely overcome by our invention, the details of which will behereinafter fully described, and the parts thought to be new pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, showing allthe parts of a cabinet-makers or carpenters vise. Fig. 2 is a horizontalsection on the line x a, Fig. 1, showing the closing and openingmechanism. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a portion of the visejawsthrough the center of adjustingscrew. Fig. 4 shows an end view of thelever and the weight.

In the several figures like reference-marks indicate corresponding partsthroughout the drawings.

A is the stationary and B is the movable jaw of a vise.

C is an adj Listing-screw to regulate the opening between the jaws andforming a pivot for the movable jaw. The screw 0 is similar to the screwused generally in this class of Visesthat is to say, the collar 0,against which the washer on the jaw presses, has a hemispherical innersurface, and the washer bhas a corresponding outer surface, for thepurpose of Serial No. 259,894. (No model.)

preventing any unequal strain on different parts of the collar by reasonof the pivotal movement of the jaw. provided with an annular recess,into which the collar fits, for the purpose of keeping the washer on thejaw B in contact with the collar 0. Thejaw B may, however, be held inposition against the collar c by means of a weight or spring; butweprefer the specific construction shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The function ofthe screw 0 being simply to adjust and hold the jaw B at the pivotalpoint, and not to tighten the vise, a small handwheel, c, is preferred,as shown, or a crank instead of a lever, as has heretofore been the casein benchscrews.

Near the bottom end of the jaw A is pivoted the lever D, which might bemade of a single piece and so shaped as to have its pivotal point at aproper relative height to the This screw is also V weight and thesurface that impinges against the jaw B and be passed either through thejaws or at one side of them; but we prefer a double lever, as shown, topass on both sides of the jaws and to carry a roller, F, between the twoparts thereof. Projecting from the jaw A are the pins a, and on thelever D are the brackets (2, having indentations cl on the undersides,that engage with and pivot thelever D on the pins a. On the backend of the lever D is the weight E,which may be adjusted and fastened atthe point necessary to exert the required force on the lever, and thefront end of the lever projects in front of the visea sufficientdistance to form the pedal H, by means of which the lever D may bedepressed. Between the two parts of the lever B, and journaled thereon,is the roller F, which presses against the inner surface,t,of the jaw B.The height at which the lever is pivoted on the jaw A, the position ofthe roller F to the pivotal point of the lever, and the lower corner ofthe rear end of the 1ever,which corner would come in contact with thefloor and stop its down ward progress,and the angle of the innersurface, I), of the jaw B, over which surface the roller Ftravels,should be so proportioned as to prevent a line drawn through thecenters of the roller F and pins or from passing farther than to a rightangle to the surface I), as that is the point at which the ultimateforce is exerted.

The finger b, fastened to the jaw B and passing behind the roller F,keeps the lower end of that jaw in contact with the r0ller,and isprovided with a recess in the jaw A, into which it may enter and allowthe jaws to come together.

The bar G passes through a mortise in the jaw A, in which it slides, oneend being pivoted, as shown, to the jaw B. The preferred position ofthis bar is near the adjustingscrew, as in that position it has a lessdistance to move than when near the bottom of the vise, of courseexcepting such times as are necessary to move the adj usting-screw.

The operation of this device is as follows: The jaws are first set tosuit the thickness of the work to be clamped in the vise by turning theadj usting-screw in or out, as necessary, and by lifting the outer endof the lever D until it can be moved to a corresponding position anddroppedinto one of the indentations d in the brackets-that is to say,the indentation that will allow the jaws to close to about a parallelposition before the inner end of the lever touches the floo1'after whichthe vise can be opened by depressing the outer end of the lever D by apressure of the foot, and will close automatically by the gravity of theweight E on the pressure of the foot being removed. In this way work maybe more easily and rapidly put into and removed from this vise than avise in which one hand is requisite to close the vise or open the same.

It will be observed that the weight E may be removed from or toward thepivotal point of the lever D, and that this removal will exert a greateror less force upon the surface I), and that the shortening of theweighted end of the lever by the removal of the fulcrum in adjusting thevise-jaws to take in an article of greater thickness is aboutcompensated for by the angle of the lever assuming a position before theweighted end of the lever strikes the floor and is stopped thereby thatwould bring the line of pressure between the pins or and the surface bnearer to a right angle to that surface.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is'

1. In aself-closing vise, the combination of the jaw A, the adjustablejaw B, and the weighted lever D, adjustably pivoted to thejaw A andimpinging against the jaw B, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a selfclosing vise, the combination of the stationary jaw A, theadjustably-pivoted jaw 13, the lever D, pivoted by the brackets d,having indentations d, and the roller F, substantially as shown anddescribed.

3. In a self-closing vise, the combination of thestationaryjaw A,thepivoted jaw B,and the weighted lever D, carrying the roller F and thepedal H, substantially as shown and de scribed, and for the purposespecified.

4. In a self closing vise, the jaws A and B, the screw 0, the lever D,carrying brackets d and pedal H, and having roller d working against thesurface b of the jaw B, the pins a, inserted in the jaw A, and the barG, pivoted to thejaw B and sliding through thejaw A, all combined andoperating substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

HIRAM B. SMITH. GEORGE B. HINMAN.

\Vitnesses:

A. P. Woon, E. W. GREEN.

